I need a project to get a job in machine learning field. Please recommend me a project. • /r/MachineLearning

I am a self taught coder for the past 6 months. When I apply for jobs, I keep getting rejected as I was told i have no portfolio to show and i dont have a software engineering background so why hire me when they can hire an experienced software engineer and train him on machine learning skills. I am getting depressed over this situation over the past few weeks and considering looking for jobs in my previous non-tech related job field. So kindly, please provide me with an interesting project that can allow me to showcase my skills. I am also willing to do free projects for anyone out there as long im guided on the best practices.